LANGDALE - 16th August 2026

Photo: by Gareth

A healthy total of 43 SFWC members undertook the trip to the Langdales and were rewarded with another largely dry day, to maintain the current run of fabulous summer walks. An impressive 11 walks were organised including four private’s, with a spectacular set of photos the result.

Geoff’s group followed a great route taking in Bowfell, Crinkle Crags & Cold Pike. AND birketts galore for most of them, visiting White Stones (just Paula), Shelter Crags, Gunson Knott, 4th Crinkle, 3rd Crinkle & 1st Crinkle. Pike O Blisco was omitted as visiting the pub seemed to be in order.

They ascended via The Band up to Bowfell (omitting the slab due to poor weather) & could see little until approaching Crinkle Crags (again weather forced a bypass of the bad step). Cold Pike and the descent offered better conditions. The 6 of them completed about 10 miles and 3600ft.

Martin’s walk matched the walk description, “a pleasant stroll through a lovely valley”.  As they started walking they couldn’t help looking at the spectacular features of the Langdale Pikes and continued to enjoy a changing perspective on the pikes throughout the walk.  So, while other groups were enjoying walking over the pikes, Martin’s group was getting the best views from below. A total of 8 miles and 650 ft completed.

Paul C’s group set off knowing that they had an uphill climb straight from the car park. Nearing the top a light drizzle set in and it went quite cool. Only two of the group actually tackled the short scramble up and down Pike O'Stickle, but the rain stopped, providing opportunity for a pleasant lunch break. Onward across the dreaded bog country, but a good path runs through now so there were no "sinking" casualties. On the next stretch whilst Paul and Pam struggled through thick vegetation to find the path marked on the map, the other four sensibly decided to stay on the actual path and met up again by Angle Tarn. After the long descent by Rossett Gill and the even longer walk along Mickleden, the group opted for the direct route back to the coach, missing out the higher-level detour originally planned.

Mike J’s group started at Elterwater and made their way to Wilson Place followed by Stang End. Here they deviated from the planned route to visit Cathedral Cave, returning to Stang End to pick up the original route and carried on to Hodge Close via Oxen Fell. As they had quite a bit of the walk on the road, they opted for an alternative route to Timberthwaite house to avoid more road walking. There was a path showing on the map which passed through the disused  quarries, which was up with the cycle route between Cathedral Cave and Timberthwaite house. This was a new path to Gerry. They took the path up to Fellfoot which contained quite a lot of loose stones. They finally picked up the Wynrose Road and rocky path to Blea Tarn and New Dungeon Ghyll. There were 6 in the group and they completed 10.5 miles with 1500ft of ascent.

Steve J’s walk ascended along Rosset Gill in the drizzle, but the jacket was left off as it was too humid. It was preferable to just get damp (well, wet)!!

Drying out past Angle Tarn to the landmark shelter below Esk Hause, Steve included a short climb up to Allen Crags, and from Esk Hause a romp up onto Great End. Returning to the Hause, Esk Pike was next as the mist slowly started to fill as it swept in from the west, and the Great Moss, although there were views from Esk Pike. Omitting Bowfell, where the clag had now dropped, Steve descended from Ore Gap and then took the path under Rossett Pike towards Stake Pass and a descent into Langdale Coombe and alongside Stake Gill. There were a number of walkers going up in ones and twos, with large rucksacks and the majority were walking the Cumbria Way. Some tents had already been pitched near the top of the Coombe. 

There were more walkers heading out in that direction too, as they were passed down Mickleden.

Stu & Ele began a private walk from Skelwith Bridge, aiming for the beautiful Colwith Force waterfalls, where a drink stop and photo opportunity is always a must!

They’d never seen so little water flowing down what is usually a roaring cascade with spray floating in the air. The current drought has of course been responsible here too.

Leaving the waterfalls, they headed for Stang End and the cavern that is Cathedral Cave.

There was a mass of visitors here and they bumped into Mike James's party also having a look.

Crossing the lovely little stone Slater Bridge and into Little Langdale hamlet, stopping at The Three Shires Inn was not an option, as Lingmoor Fell loomed ahead and this was the main aim for their walk.

A brief lunch stop prepared them for the ascent of this deceptively steep little mountain, which requires careful navigation through shoulder high bracken at times, and a twisting path with many misleading turn offs!

Just when you think you have reached the summit, a long 'ridge' appears ahead. This however is a delight, as the main climb is over and just a series of ups and downs take you to the true summit named Brown How on the o/s maps.

They met Peter there, on his solo expedition.

After a long rest and time to admire the surroundings of such a lovely summit, described by Wainwright as having one of the best views in Lakeland, Ele and Stu began the long descent, very steep and craggy in places, to skirt Side Pike and reach the Great Langdale Valley.

A short section of pathway across pasture land brought them to the coach parked at New Dungeon Ghyll, where boots were removed from tired feet and a welcome drink awaited at the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel.

Another fabulous day on the Fells in an Iconic area of Lakeland.

Gareth opted for a solo route and jumped off the bus at Pye Howe and headed up Little Castle How and Great Castle How, picking up the ridge to Blea Rigg. With the "bogland" fairly dry and conditions favourable, he took advantage and tweaked the plan by darting across to Tarn Crag and returned to Sergeant Man via Codale Head and the itinerary before pressing onwards across the high ground from Sergeant Man to High Raise and Thunacar Knott. The route then continued around the iconic Langdale Pikes—taking in incredible views from Pike of Stickle, Loft Crag, Harrison Stickle, and Pavey Ark. Then dropped (where the knees would allow) down from Pavey Ark to rejoin the rest of the club for a couple of refreshments, before the coach journey home. A cracking day out bagging 12 peaks, including 9 Wainwrights.

Garry’s group left the coach at the New Dungeon Ghyll in good cheer and setting off a good 20 minutes before expected. Climbing Stickle Ghyll on the west side was a good choice with the east side being very busy. They met many descenders who had camped above the night before, as well as a very excited dog on his way up. Getting to the top with the imposing Pavey Ark and the easily visible Jacks Rake and easy gully ahead, with many groups heading up Jacks Rake they turned to take on (not so) Easy Gully!! A steep scree filled gully with some scrambling in the lower section leads to an imposing set of slabs needing to be got over. The first set was reasonably straightforward, however the second set proved a much harder challenge. With 2 potential routes, and both looking a bit extreme, they couldn't see a way up. Then they met someone descending who knew the route down either the left side (which looked like you needed proper wall/rock climbing skills) and the right side (which needed quite a stretch and some upper body strength). They decided the right side looked easier and so Garry was the first to attempt it. It required full on stretching to reach the very good hand grips, however there was very little in the way of foot placements and it required both a significant pull and a scrabble along the rock to get up. With Garry above the others, they all tried the same thing, with significantly less success. So it was decided to meet up on North Rake. After the descent of Easy Gully and the ascent of North Rake, they all got to the top of Pavey Ark and stopped for a well-deserved lunch.

This had delayed them significantly and so a rerouting was going to happen. With Blea Rigg and High Raise abandoned they decided to carry on to Harrison stickle. However another dog decided that playing fetch with a piece of turf was the priority, so after spending about 5 minutes playing with the dog, the owners headed down North Rake and the group continued on. On the Harrison Stickle descent and the Pike of Stickle ascent they found non-ideal paths which when looked at the other way, the obvious route was seen. It was on Pike of Stickle that they decided to abandon the rest of the walk and headed back to the New Dungeon Ghyll as time was really tight by then. Heading back down via Loft Crag and Thorn Crag, they got back to the New Dungeon Ghyll with time for a drink and to rest their weary legs. In the end they did about 8 miles and 3200 ft ascent, just not in the expected way. Garry definitely will not be recommending an ascent of Easy Gully!!

Steph’s group enjoyed a scenic walk from Skelwith Bridge to Langdale and it made a pleasant change to walk in some cooler conditions. However there was a short midday shower in the Little Langdale valley, so they took advantage of the nearby Cathderal Cave for their lunch-stop. It was near here that they encountered a lovely lady and her charming daughter who needed some help with navigation. She was very grateful when Steph allowed her to photograph the area from her map.  They completed the walk with a well-earned ice cream from the National Trust shop in the camp site at Old Dungeon Ghyll.

Clare V’s group of four alighted at Elterwater to join Clare on a walk along the hill tops on the north of the Langdale Valley.  No mountains to climb, although not too far short for some of the tops. Sue M, Paul S, Michelle and Liz thought it was worth the effort and were rewarded with a cloud free jaunt on a cooler than recent but nonetheless lovely day, with spectacular views all the way. A walk through the quiet trees of Low Wood started the walk and from there it was pretty much uphill until Blea Rigg had been conquered. Taking in Dow Bank and Spedding Crag before some easier terrain around the back of Silver How and up past the tarns below Lang How. Over to Swinescar Hause and up Little Castle How for lunch and stunning views, picking out Easdale Tarn, Helm Crag and the peaks of the Helvellyn Range. Onward and upward for the final climb to Blea Rigg and finally some descent with Pavey Ark, Harrison Stickle and Stickle Tarn stealing the limelight. A bit of a scramble around the far shore of the tarn before crossing Stickle Ghyll to descend the rocky path down to New Dungeon Ghyll. The walk was planned to take in Dungeon Ghyll Force but seeing the exceedingly unimpressive trickle bumbling down Stickle Ghyll, the unanimous decision was the time and effort would be better spent checking out the services in the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel!! It turned out to be quite a short walk at 7.6miles but with 2,400ft of ascent there were no complaints and the chips at NDG were very nice but a little on the expensive side.

Thanks to the leaders for their continued dedication and willingness to accept responsibility for their charges – Martin, Mike J, Geoff, Steph, Garry, Paul C, Clare V, Stu, Gareth, Pete & Steve J. And to the photographers for their wonderful contributions – Mike B, Mike J, Chris, Geoff, Darren, Steph, Garry, Monika, Pam T, Pam B, Stu, Gareth, Steve J & Clare V.

Click HERE to open the album.

Click HERE to see Darren's video of Geoff's walk.

Next Walks:

Sunday 30^th August 2026 – Horton in Ribblesdale to Hawes

5.30 p.m. departure

Northbound to Preston, on to the M65, M65 eastbound to junction 7, via A6185/A678 to the A680, A671 to roundabout N of Whalley, A59 to Gisburn, A682/A65/B6480/B6479 to Settle, B6479 through Horton in Ribblesdale to the B6255, B6255 to Hawes. The coach will park by the craft centre in Hawes, a wide area off the A684 in the eastern end of the village, beside the disused railway station. Morning coffee stop at Darwen services, M65.

Sunday 13^th September 2026 – Coniston via Ambleside

5.30 p.m. departure

Northbound to Preston, M6 north to junction 36, A590/A591 past Windermere to Ambleside, A593 to Coniston. Park in Coniston.  Morning coffee stop at Burton services.

Sunday 27^th September 2026 – Ambleside

5.30 p.m. departure

Northbound to Preston, M6 north to junction 36, A590/A591 to Ambleside. Park in Ambleside in the Rothay Holme coach/HGV park which is situated off the Rothay Road (A593), between the bridge/sharp bend where the A593 crosses the river at Rothay Bridge and the centre of Ambleside. Morning coffee stop at Burton services.